This responsibility might not have been explicitly stated on your job description, but it is an absolute for EVERY leader:
➡️ Must be accountable for your employees’ actions at all times.
It’s easy to take credit for your team when they’re doing well, when other departments, your clients and vendors are all congratulating you about how awesome they are.
But, it’s much more difficult to be accountable for them when you’re receiving complaints, when they’re missing deadlines and when things are just not going well. This is the time that is more important than ever to be accountable.
THE STORY
I got a call the other day.
“Anne, one of my employees made a mistake and our vendor is furious. What should I do?”
This is a situation every leader will encounter. Another team, another department, client or vendor will call you to complain. No team has a perfect track record.
At this point, you have two options:
- Point fingers, deflect and join in on the complaining about that employee with the external party
OR
- Step up and be accountable as their leader
The best decision is to always be accountable, no matter what.
Why? Two reasons –
- Their actions are a reflection of yours (or lack of).
Taking accountability for an employee’s mistake might be hard for some leaders to stomach. You didn’t make the mistake yourself so how is it your place to take the blame?
Let’s dive deeper into the situation.
If your employee made a mistake, it’s time to ask yourself these questions –
- Did I provide enough oversight for them to be successful?
- Did I provide enough training for them to complete their assigned work correctly?
- Did I hire the right person for this role? (Yes, it goes all the way back to a hiring decision.)
As their leader, you are responsible for leading them with your time and communication, providing them with adequate training to produce correct work, and ultimately, hiring the most qualified person for the job.
This is how you are directly responsible for your team’s actions.
Bottom line: As their leader, you are accountable for their actions because their actions are a result of yours. Always.
- If you want an accountable team, you have to set the standard and model it.
Every leader I talk to likes to throw the term “accountability” around, but often they’re only thinking about how their team needs to be accountable to them.
The fastest way to build an accountable team with long term success is to model accountability yourself – externally and internally.
➕ When you own mistakes on behalf of the team to other departments
➕ When you show up to meetings on time
➕ When you follow through and do what you said you would despite challenges
Your team is your reflection. If you want something changed, it has to start with you.
This means that good or bad – you’re their leader and you take responsibility for your team. It’s your job to receive whatever pressure comes their way and be accountable for the full actions of the team externally.
That’s not to say you won’t also hold your employees accountable when external critiques come their way. It’s equally as important to meet with them one-on-one, eye-to-eye, communicate expectations and make plans for ways to help them meet those if they are not currently.
What taking accountability externally looks like is that the “public” perception (how other departments, teams, clients and vendors see your team) is that you stand together with your team. It’s hearing a complaint and saying, “Thank you for letting me know. I’ll look into it and get back to you.” and then, owning the mistake while communicating solutions to make it right. Then having that one-on-one with your employee.
What it doesn’t look like – externally and internally – is…
❌ Finger pointing
❌ Throwing your employee under the bus
❌ Basically any type of blame shifting
Your team needs to see you being accountable for them in order for them to be accountable to you. It’s not always easy, but it is worth it.
At the end of the day, you can’t celebrate the successes, if you don’t own the mistakes, too.
Looking to grow as a leader? Check out our Leadership Coaching services where Anne Laguzza provides one-on-one leadership coaching where leaders drive their learning and achieve lasting results.